Sunday, 16 January 2011

Eagle Of The Dawn: The Art of Robert Davidson

"I feel it's up to us, to the artists who have achieved that classical period level, it's up to us to maintain that standard and to instill a standard."

A native of the Canadian Northwest Coast, sculptor, painter, jeweler, printmaker and master totem pole and mask carver, Robert Davidson is of Haida descent and one of the leading figures of the Haida cultural and artistic renaissance.

Born in Hydaburg, Alaska, in 1946, Robert Davidson's Haida name is Guud San Glans (Eagle of the Dawn). In 1947 he moved to Massett on Hiada Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia) with his family where he lived until 1965; he then moved to Vancouver to attend Point Grey Secondary School. It was at Point Grey that he began to learn the fundamental techniques and processes of silk-screening. Then, in 1966, a pivotal event in Davidson's young life occurred: he met the artist, Bill Reid and through Reid, the anthropologist Wilson Duff and another artist, Bill Holm. It was through his connections with Reid, Duff and Holm that Davidson began to become interested in and learn about the ancient art of his ancestral (Haida) peoples and their culture. In pursuit of his artistic education, Davidson then enrolled in the Vancouver School of Art - the school he credits for helping to develop his drawing and design skills.

With an innate ability for being able to interpret traditional Haida forms, in a way, carving was almost second-nature to Davidson; it coursed through his bloodline. The artist himself credits his teachers and elders before him from whom he has learned the artistic 'vocabulary' of those traditions - both his father, Claude Davidson, and his grandfather, Robert Davidson Sr., were both respected carvers in Massett. But this personal artistic history goes further back: his great-grandfather, Charles Edenshaw, was a master Haida carver of repute. At the age of thirteen and on his father's insistence of carrying through with the family tradition, Davidson began to carve. Since then and throughout his artistic career, Davidson has used a variety of materials, both traditional and non-traditional, including bronze and gold (in 1997, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a $200 Haida mask gold coin designed by Davidson entitled, Raven Bringing Light to the World). (Source: gormanmuseum.ucdavis.edu)

Over the decades, Robert Davidson's work has become internationally recognized, respected and sought after by collectors and museums alike. As a result, his work can now be found in a number of important collections, both private and public, including the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Vancouver Art Gallery and the Artists for Kids Gallery in North Vancouver, the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Hull, Quebec, and at the Southwest Museum in Los Angeles, California. Not surprisingly, his accomplishments have earned Davidson numerous awards as well: in recognition of his invaluable contribution to First Nations art and culture, the National Aboriginal Achievement Award (1995); the Order of British Columbia; the Order of Canada (1996); and, most recently, the Governor General's Awards In Visual and Media Arts (2010). Additionally, Davidson holds several honourary degrees from various institutions such as, the University of Victoria, the Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia, the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and Vancouver's Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. (Sources: gormanmuseum.ucdavis.edu, undated; canadacouncil.ca, 2010)

Davidson is still busy with commission work - in 2010, he was hard at work in his White Rock studio carving two commemorative totem poles for the 125th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; the poles were erected in the east beach area in White Rock, British Columbia. (Source: vancouversun.com, 2010)